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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27003391">Trusting That Big Brother</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/UntidyCeiling/pseuds/UntidyCeiling'>UntidyCeiling</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Big Brother and Little Brother, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Fluff, Comfort, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Leo - Freeform, Michelangelo - Freeform, Nightmares, One Shot, TMNT, TMNT 2012, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Freeform, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 - Freeform, brotherly moments, can't sleep, good feels, leonardo - Freeform, mikey - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:00:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27003391</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/UntidyCeiling/pseuds/UntidyCeiling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"It was jus' a nightmare." Mikey plucked at the fabric that wound around his fingers then forced his trademark smile to appear on his lips. "But it really wasn't that bad. Honest. Just shook me a little bit, but everything's okay now!" But it really wasn't. Mikey just doesn't want to worry his older bro with pointless nightmares, but Leonardo is a very smart turtle. Bro fluff!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Trusting That Big Brother</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Trusting That Big Brother</p><p>2:55 a.m.</p><p>The neon clock light penetrated the young terrapin's eyes when they flew open. He was visited by another nightmare, the same one that plagued him every night for the past month, showing the same daunting images of his father being slain by the Shredder. And as much as he willed himself to go back to sleep and forget about the nightmare, his mind forbade him. Uuuuuhuhugh! This suuuuucks!</p><p>Mikey pressed his palms to his eyes and moaned out loud before remembering that Donnie actually came to bed last night and was occupying the opposite end of the queen mattress. Heh heh, oops, sorry D. But his immediate brother didn't stir and Mikey let out a breath of relief. Good thing Donnie was such a heavy sleeper or he would have woken a monster! A really-annoyed-at-every-little-thing monster. And that wasn't good for anybody!</p><p>The youngest threw a glance at his sleeping brother's form before slowly and carefully propping himself up in bed, cringing when the bed groaned under his weight. And when that didn't wake the purple-masked ninja up, Mikey slowly swung his legs over the bed and gently lowered himself to the cold, wooden floor. Like a totally quiet awesome ninja turtle do! Then he snuck out of the room wincing eternally at every little cry the creaky floor made.</p><p>Once out of the room and with the door successfully closed, Mikey did a small victorious dance before turning around to face the dark house only to smack into something very solid that caused him to stumble back slightly.</p><p>"Ooff."</p><p>"Mikey?"</p><p>Mikey blinked stupidly up into the face of his older brother and slowly smiled as his gaze traveled to his blue eyes that looked almost black in the dark. "Wha'up, bro? Did not expect to see your beautiful face up this early in the morning!"</p><p>"I could say the same to you," Leo said as he leaned heavily against the crutch that was supporting his bum leg and fixed his younger brother with an inquisitive look. And before the older turtle could ask any more prying questions, Mikey quickly said, "I can't believe Raphie isn't trailing behind you right now." The orange-banded turtle peered behind the oldest to double-check, and yup, no Raphie. "I'm pretty sure he'll have a fit if he wakes up and you're not there. Sooo… best be off to bed Leo!" The youngest grabbed Leo's wrist and started to head off towards the shared room of his two oldest bros when Leo shook him off and raised an eyebrow; "And why are you up so early in the morning, may I ask?"</p><p>Mikey pursed his lips at the dreaded question as he searched his mind for an answer, all the while Leonardo shifted as he waited for a reply with practiced patience; eyebrow still raised and his steel-blue eyes penetrating Mikey's soul in the semi-dark hallway. Mikey wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Leo he had another nightmare about their father dying. His older brother was already in enough pain as it was, and Mikey didn't want to add to that mountain of hurt. He didn't want to see Leo's eyes cloud with sadness or his shoulders to cave in on himself with the weight of everything that had happened to their little family. So Mikey finally said after what felt like forever, "I had to use the little turtle's room?" aaaand wishing it doesn't sound so much like a question.</p><p>"You had to?"</p><p>Ah crap!</p><p>"Uhh, that's not what I… you see…" he struggled to find words and Leo just smirked in amusement before placing a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "I'm joking. But is that really why you're up so early?"</p><p>His eyes peered right into Mikey's soul and Mikey knew that look. It was the look that wouldn't accept anything but the truth. That look was definitely an illegal offense and should be totally penalized for.</p><p>Mikey slowly switched his gaze to the ground and shuffled uneasily, still persuaded that Leo didn't need the extra burden of pointless nightmares. But Leo took that as the answer and gently tucked his fingers under Mikey's chin, and forced the younger turtle to look into his eyes. "I'm guessing that's not the reason. What is it then?"</p><p>And the older turtle was just so full of love and concern that Mikey wanted to hug his older brother and burrow into the loving circle of his arms but he held himself back, torn between wanting to tell his big brother and to shield him from all of Mikey's problems. And the longer Mikey didn't answer, the more Leo's eyebrows knitted together in worry before he asked, "Is something bothering you, little brother?"</p><p>Mikey twiddled his fingers, gaze wavering slightly which seemed to answer Leo's question. He sighed softly before saying, "let's go sit on the couch. It will be a lot more comfortable there, and also, because I'm not sure how much longer I can't stand on this leg." He smiled gently before limping heavily to the stairs which caused Mikey's eyes to widen slightly.</p><p>"Whoa, whoa, dude! Let me help you! Don't want the words engraved on your tombstone to say that you died from falling down the stairs!" Mikey took Leo's arm and carefully helped him descend the last couple of steps before the youngest draped said arm around his neck to support his injured brother and walked the rest of the distance to the couch. When they reached the floral-print sofa, Leo moaned as he lowered himself into the cushions and stretched out his injured leg. And once he was all settled, he glanced up at his baby bro and patted the spot next to himself which Mikey took in a heartbeat.</p><p>"Talk to me, little brother."</p><p>And it really shouldn't be so hard to talk to him! Mikey really wanted to come right out and confined everything to Leo, all his worries and nightmares and problems. Just lay it all out on the table and let his big brother take care of it all. He yearned for the comfort and the protection and to know everything will be okay. He yearned it so badly that it caused tears to sting his eyes.</p><p>Seriously, he was being a baby. They were all having a hard time and Mikey knew that. Each one of his brothers was a victim of the horrible nightmares that dogged them every night. They were all having problems and were all terrified that life would never go back to the way it was. Every single one of them was going through the same emotional roller coaster Mikey was. So it just wasn't fair that Mikey couldn't turtle up and shoulder his own burdens like his older brothers did.</p><p>"Mikey?" Leo asked gently and Mikey couldn't look at those loving, warm eyes anymore, instead, he switched his gaze down to his hands and bit his lip softly.</p><p>"It was jus' a nightmare."</p><p>Leo's face softened as Mikey plucked at the fabric that wound around his fingers then forced his trademark smile to appear on his lips. "But it really wasn't that bad. Honest. Just shook me a little bit, but everything's okay now!"</p><p>He rubbed the back of his head nervously before the baby blue eyes traveled up to Leo's face and saw with discouragement, that Leo was frowning. Aw geez… That's not a good sign...</p><p>"If you had a nightmare that got you out of bed, then it must have been that bad."</p><p>"No, no! It really wasn't! I just woke up and needed a moment to think so I came out here! Really, Leo, it's fine!" Mikey forced his grin to split his face and Leo's frown deepened. Okay, so, this wasn't going exactly the way Mikey wanted… He sighed heavily before wrapping his arms around his big bro, trying to get him to see that everything was, in fact, okay. And that seemed to have worked cos Leo let out a sigh before completing the hug.</p><p>"You know that I've known you for fifteen years right?"</p><p>Okaaaay… That was not what Mikey was expecting him to say as he let up from the hug to stare directly into his brother's eyes with a confused look.</p><p>"Um, yeah. Ditto, bro."</p><p>"Your smile isn't reaching your eyes. I can tell when something is bothering you. I can tell when you're lying. And, I can tell when you're not okay, little brother."</p><p>Mikey scrunched up his face in a pout cos seriously this guuuuy! Mikey couldn't get away with anything! But when Leo smiled, the youngest felt a little bit celebratory and relaxed a tad.</p><p>"So, are you going to tell me about that nightmare? Or am I going to have to force it out of you?"</p><p>Mikey laughed softly and Leo's smile softened at the sound.</p><p>"No force necessary, dude!" The youngest quickly replied as he shook his head. "Golly, Leo. Since when did you become so much like Raphie?"</p><p>"Since he won't leave my side even for a second. I can't even use the bathroom without him standing outside the door." His eyes were twinkling behind the disgruntled look he gave Mikey and the orange-banded turtle giggled. "But really, though, what was your nightmare about?"</p><p>Mikey groaned as he closed his eyes, "You're not gonna let me be, are you?'</p><p>"Nope. Never."</p><p>"Booo! You're the absolute worst!"</p><p>"You're staling," Leo said as he poked Mikey's rib cage and Mikey snorted before exhaling another sigh.</p><p>"Okay, okay… I, I had a nightmare about Sensei… I watched him die again…" Mikey glanced away from his brother, staring at the darkness that loomed over the living room. Leo was silent for a couple of seconds and Mikey reeeeally wished he didn't say anything... And to make the situation worse, his eyes just haaad to tear up and make his vision blurry.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Mikey," Leo whispered.</p><p>"What…? No. I'm sorry. I'm being a baby when you're probably missing him the most." Mikey replied quickly, trying to blink back the stupid tears. He was probably making everything worse. Mikey always considered himself to be the glue that held his family together. He made it his job to defuse the tension and to bring a smile to his brothers' faces. But at this moment, he was failing miserably, and poor Leo was getting dumped on. He had to fix this and quickly!</p><p>"Look, I'll be okay, Leo. I'm a tough cookie, I'll pull through!" Mikey grinned hugely at his older brother but didn't fail to notice when his bro's mouth tipped down in a large frown. What is it with this guy and frowning?! And it only took a second for Mikey to mirror his expression. "What…?"</p><p>"You keep blowing it off like it's nothing."</p><p>"But it is noth—"</p><p>"No, it's not, Mikey." He dragged his hand down his face and looked a hundred times more exhausted than he did a few seconds ago. Mikey could only watch, somehow feeling like he screwed up again. Why was it so hard to help Leo feel better?</p><p>"It's not nothing," Leo began before fixing Mikey with a 'don't argue with me on this' look, "this is Father we're talking about. He's not 'nothing'. You watched him die and that must have been extremely hard on you. On all three of you. Well, four if you count April. He took care of us and loved us and gave us a life. He was our Sensei and our dad. We're all having a hard time because we loved him, and there's nothing wrong with loving our father. And if you're having nightmares about him, then you're having a hard time whether you want to admit it or not, and I'm here —we're all here— to comfort you, little bro. So stop this nonsense and pretending that it's okay because it's not and never will be."</p><p>Mikey blinked up into his face as Leo spoke, not sure how to respond, cos, yeah, Leo was right, though Mikey wasn't willing to give him that title yet. It wasn't okay. Mikey knew that. What they went through was terrible, but he didn't want to make it worse for everyone else. Was that so wrong?</p><p>"It's just, I know you've been through a lot, and don't want to vomit all my problems on you," Mikey whispered, shuffling slightly with a tiny frown.</p><p>"I'm a tough cookie, I'll pull through," Leo said with a small smile, repeating Mikey's words from earlier, "but right now, I'm here for you, otouto. So you can lay it all on me."</p><p>And here came the dumb tears again as Mikey sprung at Leo, giving him the biggest and most deserved hug ever! Wrapping arms around his carapace and pressed his cheek against Leo's neck. It only took his brother a full two seconds for the shock to wear off before he wrapped his strong arms around Mikey and squeezed him softly.</p><p>"What did I ever do to earn such an amazing bro like you, Leo?" Mikey whispered against the crook of Leo's neck.</p><p>"I am pretty amazing, huh?"</p><p>It was a smug sound but Mikey nodded all the same, "definitely, yes!"</p><p>And Leo pulled away from the hug and swept his thumb over Mikey's cheek, catching that one stubborn tear that spilled over then youngest's mask. Then he cupped Mikey's face in his hands and looked at him with love etched into every bit of his being before saying, "will you talk to me please? Whenever you're having a hard time or finding yourself facing nightmares or anything that is weighing on your mind? It doesn't matter what it is, or how tough or bad things have gotten, I am here for you. I love you, otouto, always have and always will. And I want to help you."</p><p>And seriously, how could Mikey respond to that other than a watery smile and a nod of his head, cueing a smile from his oldest brother as he hugged him again.</p><p>"We'll talk more in the morning, since it's pretty late, and you're probably exhausted. But I expect you to talk to me, got it? No more of this blowing it off stuff."</p><p>"Okie, Leo…" Mikey whispered as he closed his eyes as his older brother rubbed the back of his carapace. And yeah, okay, Leo won. He usually does. Mikey's big bro saw right past the fake smiles and Mikey's professional acting, and even though it was just a petty nightmare, he was already feeling a lot better after revealing last night's nasty dream to his biggest bro. Leo was strong and Mikey was positive he could handle almost anything, and it would turn out to be okay in the end. The youngest trusted his brother. And for now, the youngest was going to let Leo take Mikey's problems off his shoulders and carry them for a little bit, and eventually, Mikey will return the favor.</p><p>And right before sleep could steal the orange-banded turtle away, he whispered softly, "I love you oniisan."</p><p>"I love you too, otouto." And Mikey drifted off to sleep, curled up in the protective embrace of his big brother.</p><p>THE END</p>
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